Watched "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" last night and sketched one of the Nazgul's "fell beasts" (I actually had to look that up) as I watched. They were, in my opinion, the coolest design from the films.
The LOTR films aren't my favorite but they still pretty good. They have brilliant design, direction, and pretty amazing (albeit CG) action sequences, but I just struggle with any film over three hours (upwards of four in the director's cut). The only film that can pull of three hours half hours plus is Laurence of Arabia, which does it flawlessly by keeping the action going.
Here's a tip to filmmakers: Long film does not equal great art. Keep the story moving, keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
